Aberrant trans-osseous venous drainage of the superficial middle cerebral vein: case report

The superficial middle cerebral veins (SMCVs) are large veins to drain the brain and therefore anatomical knowledge of them is important for neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists. In a patient with a ruptured blister aneurysm, we incidentally found during angiography an aberrant drainage of the SMCVs, which penetrated the lateral part of the greater sphenoid wing and directly connected the SMCVs with the deep facial vein. Neurosurgeons usually need to remove that part of the greater sphenoid wing during the fronto-temporal approach. The existence of a well-developed current channel could be a contraindication for this type of procedure.